By: Paul Reichert August 13, 2021
A picture perfect night welcomed the race fans back to Tomah-Sparta Speedway for another action packed night of racing on western Wisconsin’s legendary oval. The track that Dick Trickle, Tom Reffner, Marv Marzofka and others helped first make famous in the mid-60s is making new history this year. When was the last time we witnessed two rookie drivers winning features in the same division in the same year at ‘Daytomah’? Brandon Adams picked the right time to claim his first ever win during the Six Shooter Mania a couple weeks ago. This week Chuck Muller fights off some of the top Six Shooters to notch his first career win on his mom’s birthday.
The TACU Credit Union Six Shooter feature got off to a rough start when Dawsynn Frye spun in turn three on lap one. On the second try Mike Gratz and his mini-van surged ahead of Seth Gnewikow to lead the early laps of the race. Joshua Zacharias dove low to get around Gnewikow for second on lap four and began to apply pressure to Gratz for the top spot. That challenge would be halted by yellow on lap six when Devin Glass, Jestin DeLap, Sr. and Frye all got tangled up in turn two. The restart did not get very far when Matt Moore and Andrew Moore tangled in turn one. On the second try to restart the race Chuck Muller surged ahead of Gnewikow and into the race lead. Muller would be followed closely behind by both Matt Moore and Taylor McMullen. For the rest of the feature Moore and McMullen played with second like a hot potato as they tried to decide who would make a run at Muller for the lead. Muller did not crack under the pressure from both drivers as he claimed his first ever feature victory. A huge win that proves racing can be good therapy after Muller had back surgery last year and decided to go racing as part of his recovery.
The Clark Powersport of Hillsboro Modified feature saw Bill Schott win the battle of siblings to claim the top spot at the start of the race. While trying to find a way around Bill to take over the race lead cousin Denny had to fight back the challenges of Derrin Salo to hold onto the runner-up spot. Bill kept Denny right behind him as the laps ticked away as Denny waited for the right moment to pounce. Unfortunately that would not happen when Denny retired from the race with five laps to go due to a mechanical issue. That allowed ‘The Flying Finlander’ to begin to close up the distance on Schott over the final five laps. Salo would get as close as two car lengths while Schott would drive away with his third checkered flag of the year.
Dan Frye charged past first time ‘Daytomah’ visitor Ken Steinhorst to settle into the lead at the start of the Sportsmen feature. As Frye began to open up his advantage Steinhorst would have his rear view mirror full of Andrew Borntrager’s race car for several laps. Andrew was running his first ever race atTomah and became the fourth Borntrager brother to get behind the wheel. Borntrager began to lose touch with Steinhorst after the midway point of the race but was still making a good showing in his first time racing at ‘Daytomah’. While he was pulling away from Borntrager, Steinhorst was not making up much ground on the race leader but also was putting in a respectable effort in his Tomah debut. Frye was long gone as he drove off with feature win number six of 2021.
Aaron Hendricks wasted little time at the start of the Hobby Stock feature to charge past Shelby Lockington for the race lead. Andy Moore immediately made his way through the field and by lap four he used his patented outside lane to get around Hendricks to move into the top spot. Before the last was completed Mike Krueger, Jr. also drove past Hendricks to settle into second and begin his pursuit of Moore. Now the fight for the win in the feature was on between Moore and Krueger, Jr. Krueger, Jr. needed several laps to close the gap between him and Moore for the race lead. With four laps to go the black 34 machine closed to within two car lengths of Moore for the top spot. Krueger, Jr. could not muster a late race rally as Moore hit the finish line first for his sixth feature win this season.
Justin Marshall continues to improve and follow in older sister Amelia’s tire tracks as he led the opening laps of the Oops! Saloon and Grill by Angie Hornet feature. With two heats wins under his belt in two weeks, Marshall was doing his darndest to hold off the swarm in the first feature he was showing the way in. Two hard chargers were coming quickly through the field as Mason Morphy and Kyle Riedner had their sights set on the top spot. Both drivers moved into second and third on lap eight and only need two laps to charge past Marshall to take over the top two spots. Once he got to the front Morphy slowly began to pull away from his nearest challenger down the stretch. Meanwhile Marshall had his hands full to hold off Bryan Wallace down the stretch and ended up claimed his first top three finish in only his seventh night of racing. Back up front Morphy was no match for Riedner as his scored his fifth feature win.
This week’s Chaos division event was the 2nd Over the Line Wins race. An exciting race where if you finish first, then you are last. Matt Moore patiently waited for the right moment to lunge for the finish line and he was scored in second place and the winner of the race.
Action continues next Friday, August 20 as we crown the first track champion of the 2021 racing season. The Double Spin to Win race will be the final race of the year for the Chaos division. Will we have to decide the champion through a tie breaker for a third straight year? Come on out to witness their exciting finish as well the Modifieds, Sportsmen, Hobby Stocks, Hornets, Six Shooters and Soccer Moms competing. Gates open at 5, qualifying starts at 6 and the white knuckle racing action begins at 7:30.
Please call the track office at 608-461-1920, visit our web site at tomahspartaspeedway.com or check out the track’s Facebook page to learn more about Tomah-Sparta Speedway and the 2021 schedule of events.
RESULTS
TACU Credit Union Six Shooters
Feature (15 laps): 1. Chuck Muller, 2. Taylor McMullen, 3. Matt Moore, 4. Tim Murphy, Sr., 5. Seth Gnewikow, 6. Dawsynn Frye, 7. Todd Holerud, 8. Joshua Zacharias, 9. Jestin DeLap, Sr., 10. Dakota Clausen, 11. Mike Gratz, 12. Brian Gardner, 13. Tessa Wilder, 14. Austyn Blank, 15. Clayton Haessig, 16. Chris Brown, 17. Andrew Moore, 18. Charles Vian, Jr., 19. Devin Glass
Heat #1 (8 laps): 1. Clayton Haessig, 2. Mike Gratz, 3. Chris Brown, 4. Brian Gardner, 5. Tessa Wilder, 6. Austyn Blank, 7. Dakota Clausen
Heat #2 (8 laps): 1. Seth Gnewikow, 2. Chuck Muller, 3. Tim Murphy, Sr., 4. Taylor McMullen, 5. Devin Glass, 6. Todd Holerud
Heat #3 (8 laps): 1. Charles Vian, Jr., 2. Matt Moore, 3. Joshua Zacharias 4. Jestin DeLap, Sr., 5. Andrew Moore, 6. Dawsynn Frye
Qualifying: 1. Matt Moore, 2. Taylor McMullen, 3. Charles Vian, Jr., 4. Tim Murphy, Sr., 5. Dawsynn Frye, 6. Todd Holerud, 7. Jestin DeLap, Sr., 8. Chuck Muller, 9. Andrew Moore, 10. Joshua Zacharias, 11. Devin Glass, 12. Seth Gnewikow, 13. Mike Gratz, 14. Clayton Haessig, 15. Dakota Clauson, 16. Chris Brown, 17. Brian Gardner, 18. Tessa Wilder, 19. Austyn Blank
Clark Powersport of Hillsboro Modifieds
Feature (15 laps): 1. Bill Schott, 2. Derrin Salo, 3. Denny Schott Heat #1 (8 laps): 1. Bill Schott, 2. Derrin Salo, 3. Denny Schott Qualifying: 1. Denny Schott, 2. Derrin Salo, 3. Bill Schott
Sportsmen
Feature (15 laps): 1. Dan Frye, 2. Ken Steinhorst, 3. Andrew Borntrager Heat #1 (8 laps): 1. Dan Frye, 2. Ken Steinhorst, 3. Andrew Borntrager Qualifying: 1. Dan Frye, 2. Ken Steinhorst, 3. Andrew Borntrager (NO TIME)
Hobby Stocks
Feature (15 laps): 1. Andy Moore, 2. Mike Krueger, Jr., 3. Aaron Hendricks, 4. Alex Rud, 5. Chad Leis, 6. Shelby Lockington
Heat #1 (8 laps): 1. Andy Moore, 2. Mike Krueger, Jr., 3. Aaron Hendricks, 4. Chad Leis, 5. Alex Rud, 6. Shelby Lockington, 7. Jason Bolster, 8. Andy Muller
Qualifying: 1. Andy Moore, 2. Mike Kreuger, Jr., 3. Jason Bolster, 4. Alex Rud, 5. Chad Leis, 6. Shelby Lockington, 7. Aaron Hendricks, 8. Andy Muller
Oops! Saloon and Grill by Angie Hornets
Feature (15 laps): 1. Mason Morphy, 2. Kyle Riedner, 3. Justin Marshall, 4. Bryan Wallace, 5. Zach Oliver, 6. Shawn McCarthy, 7. Jamie Pearson, 8. Paul Finch, 9. Matt Bean, 10. Amelia Marshall, 11. James Hendricks, Sr., 12. Sammy Linnehan
Heat #1 (8 laps): 1. Sammy Linnehan, 2. Mason Morphy, 3. Bryan Wallace, 4. Shawn McCarthy, 5. Justin Marshall, 6. Zach Oliver, 7. Matt Bean
Heat #2 (8 laps): 1. Paul Finch, 2. Kyle Riedner, 3. Jamie Pearson, 4. Scott Mahlum, 5. Amelia Marshall, 6. James Hendricks, Sr.
Qualifying: 1. Mason Morphy, 2. Kyle Riedner, 3. Shawn McCarthy, 4. Jamie Pearson, 5. Sammy Linnehan, 6. Paul Finch, 7. Zach Oliver, 8. Amelia Marshall, 9. Bryan Wallace, 10. Scott Mahlum, 11. Matt Bean, 12. James Hendricks, Sr., 13. Justin Marshall
Chaos
2nd Over the Line Wins (5 laps): 1. Matt Moore (2nd), 2. Clayton Haessig (3rd), 3. Mike Gratz (4th), 4. Todd Holerud (5th), 5. Dakota Clausen (6th), 6. Rick Porter (7th), 7. Alex Rud (1st)
